Los Alamos National Laboratory

Gov. Susana Martinez was in Los Alamos today to mark the one-year anniversary of the Las Conchas Fire as well at the 1,000th shipment of Transuranic (TRU) waste from LANL to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad.
In 2011, the Las Conchas Fire consumed more than 156,000 acres of land around Los Alamos and the lab site, making it the largest wildfire in state history at the time.
Following the fire, Martinez directed the New Mexico Environment Department to work with the U.S. Department of Energy to prioritize the removal of all above ground TRU waste that remains stored on the lab site.
The Martinez administration and federal officials came to an agreement that would remove all above-ground TRU waste from the lab site by the June 2014.

Nonprofit organizations will receive more than $180,000 from Los Alamos National Security, LLC during a recognition event beginning at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, at Fuller Lodge in downtown Los Alamos.
LANS contributions are determined by the number of volunteer hours logged by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) employees and retirees through an organization called VolunteerMatch.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Las Conchas Fire — the state’s second largest fire –— is the groundbreaking of a new, permanent Interagency Fire Center. The effort - stemming from coordination among several agencies during last year’s fire — is part of a partnership between the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Bandelier National Monument, and Santa Fe National Forest. The project is expected to be complete by next spring. Details in Wednesday’s Los Alamos Monitor.

The Los Alamos Study Group, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, and the Project on Government Oversight sent a letter to the ranking members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee and other organizations, urging them to cancel the Chemistry Metallurgy Research Replacement facility at Los Alamos.

The letter was sent to ranking Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman and ranking member respectively of the Senate committee that granted funding for fiscal year 2013.

DENVER — The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management made history Tuesday by bringing together the leaders of eight Tribal Nations to discuss progress in the nuclear cleanup and build partnerships to better shape the future of DOE sites.
The first-ever Tribal Leader Dialogue marked the largest gathering of leaders of Tribal Nations located near EM cleanup sites with senior DOE officials for a high-level discussion. Their meeting focused on enhancing the involvement of the Tribal Nations in decisions regarding EM’s cleanup mission and future initiatives at EM sites. In all, nine Tribal Nations were represented.

Technology innovations at Los Alamos National Laboratory have been recognized with three of R&D Magazine’s 2012 “R&D 100” awards.
These awards honor the top 100 proven technological advances of the year, as selected by a group of R&D Magazine’s chosen judges.
“Congratulations to this year’s R&D 100 award winners,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “The research and development at the Department of Energy’s laboratories continues to help the nation meet our energy challenges, strengthen our national security and improve our economic competitiveness.”

As the one-year anniversary of New Mexico’s second largest wildfire on record approaches, an focused multi-federal agency effort is now underway to build a permanent Interagency Fire Center in the heart of Northern New Mexico’s fire country.

Building upon the success of last year’s multi-agency coordination during the Las Conchas fire, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Bandelier National Monument, and Santa Fe National Forest have again partnered to enhance northern New Mexico fire protection efforts by building a 6,400-square foot facility to serve as a joint coordination and response center for fire events.

Three small companies in the diverse fields of medicine, cosmetics and crop irrigation are the latest recipients of Venture Acceleration Fund (VAF) awards from the Los Alamos National Security, LLC. Integrative Enzymatics, Vapour Organic Beauty and HydroBio will receive startup funding from the Laboratory to help them gain traction in their respective markets.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation has announced $2.1 million in grants to public schools in seven Northern New Mexico counties to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The educational area, known as STEM, promotes teacher training, curriculum development, technology in the classroom and support to students in preparation for STEM careers.
The Foundation Educational Enrichment grants are awarded to school districts based on the percentage of laboratory and contractor employees living within the school districts in Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Taos, San Miguel, Sandoval and Mora counties.